16 May Responding to Home Offers: 4 Tips for Success

How to Successfully Respond to Home Offers

In a perfect world, you get the full asking price (or more) for your home right away — no negotiation necessary. But, not every offer is at or above asking price, and deciding how to respond to an offer can be challenging.

Direct from the desks of our St. Louis real estate agents, here are 4 tips for responding to offers on your home:

1. Consider the Buyer’s Situation

If a buyer makes an offer below your asking price, consider the situation from their perspective before deciding how to respond. If you can, learn as much about the potential buyer on a professional level as possible before responding to the offer. The buyer may want to remain more private with their information; asking personal questions are sometimes discouraged. Your REALTOR® should be able to help gather the right kind of information. Learning why a buyer is most interested in your house can help you make a more enticing counter offer.

2. The Best Buyer Isn’t Always the Highest Offer

If you have multiple offers, you’ll have to decide which is the best offer. It’s not always the highest one. In a seller’s market, many buyers will make an offer at or above asking price just to win out against other bids. But signing off on the highest offer doesn’t necessarily prevent the buyer from abandoning the deal later…you want a serious buyer who is going to get through closing.

Typically a serious buyer has:

Seen your house multiple times

Been pre-approved for a loan

Focused their attention on your house

Your REALTOR® should work with you to determine which buyer is serious and committed to closing.

3. Try to Get More Than One Offer

If you’re fortunate to have multiple offers, you’re typically in a good position, and can use the next best offer(s) to your advantage. Having multiple offers signals to your best buyer that your home is in demand, and they’ll be more likely to agree to the terms of your counter offer.

4. Emphasize What’s Positive

If you decide to make a counter offer, emphasize points of the agreement up front. If you agree on the closing date and inclusions, for instance, say so — before asking for anything different. Emphasizing the positive demonstrates goodwill and signals to the buyer that you’re serious about negotiating.